Amato Gelato – Calgary, AB

“Something sweet signals to the body the end of the meal”. Whether this is hearsay or scientific research, in Western culture, this seems to apply more often than not. After a meal out, and not ready to call it a night yet, friends and I often find ourselves craving Dairy Queen (don’t ask!). However, DQ generally closes fairly early, so instead, we usually decide to head over to Amato Gelato.

Open late, Amato Gelato is a chain out of Vancouver that serves over 72 flavours of gelato, sorbet, and sorbetto at a time. They offer coffee/espresso (my memory fails me, but I believe they carry Illy), and sandwiches (which sit in a cooler for an undisclosed amount of time), but the reason for going is Gelato. Fresh made sits in a long feature cooler – take home gelato (Mario’s) is available in a side cooler with the most annoying alarm ever.

The fresh made Amato Gelato variety is actually quite good, especially for Calgary. A selection of classic, fruity, creamy, rich flavours, some with odd blends, there is generally something for everyone. Including some less than appealing flavours (durian!?). While they are quite expensive, they do let you sample their flavours until you find one you really like. Something i particularly appreciate when im craving new flavours, or just generally feeling indecisive. And the girls working the counter are eternally patient in providing samples, and offering suggestions. Just make sure you pay for your order before trying samples – they can’t get you your order until you have a receipt. That long lineup staring daggers at your back may not appreciate it either.

While Amato Gelato is pricey for what you get, they do have several things working for them. Good selection. Lots of seating. Open late. Great parking. This may not be the best deal in town, but when you need something lighter than a maldon sea salt chocolate torte, and it’s late, more often than not, Amato Gelato is the way to go.

2 thoughts on “Amato Gelato – Calgary, AB”

I have not had durian yet (yeah, shame on me) but, based on the way, you mentioned it, is it that bad? Or it is more on the lines of an acquired taste? If undecided, I always fall back to the basic: vanilla – if they can’t make a good vanilla ice cream, I don’t have high hopes for the rest. Other favs include pistacho and chocolate-y ones.